PBS published an opinion piece that canvassed different teaching methods required for approaching Thanksgiving and Christopher Columbus.

The piece by a teacher claims to present the unvarnished “real story’ for both historical markers rather than what it claimed could be construed as a “fake narrative.”

Here is a selection of the article’s conclusions as revealed by the author David Cutler:

My students felt betrayed, angry even, that throughout their elementary and middle school years, teachers had pushed a fake narrative about Columbus, or had done little, if anything, to correct the record.

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When it comes to teaching younger children about Columbus, it’s understandable that certain details should be left out. Still, we do students a tremendous disservice when we celebrate only Columbus’s bravery, without noting how he personified evil and wrongdoing.

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I leave it to my students to decide if on the fourth Thursday of November they find it appropriate to share what they are thankful for, but I also ask them to consider why many Native Americans use this date to honor a National Day of Mourning.

However you go about teaching these two holidays, remember to include the bad along with the good. Otherwise, you’re lying to your students.